Last Thursday, April 21^stHands On Atlanta, The Corporation for National and Community Service, and The Georgia Commission on Service and Volunteerism celebrated the anniversary of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act with a Serve America Bus Tour through Atlanta.  The Atlanta participants observed a day in the life of AmeriCorps members in service and witnessed, firsthand, the significant impact service has on the local Atlanta community.

“It is essential to recognize how local service organizations support Atlanta, oftentimes by offering services that local government can’t afford to provide on its own,” said Hutchinson Elementary School Principal, Dr. Rebecca Dashiell-Mitchell. “Without their help and the help of the volunteers they mobilize, fewer children would benefit from mentoring tutors, and local schools would struggle to provide after-school programs to at-risk children.”

April 21st marked the two year anniversary of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. The Act was co-authored by Senator’s Kennedy (D-MA) and Hatch (R-UT), and publicly revealed at the ServiceNation Summit on September 12, 2008.  It  is the largest expansion of community and national service since the launch of the Civilian Conservation Corps 75 years ago.  The Act has become a landmark to our service legislation – one that is important to celebrate.

Because of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, locally based organizations are able to provide increased critical services to at-risk communities at a time when local governments are facing increasingly tighter budgets.

To celebrate the anniversary last Thursday, Atlanta, together with Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, DC, Denver, Dubuque, Tucson, and Washington participated in the Serve America Bus Tour where local service leaders bused to different program sites to showcase the impact of service on various local city levels.

HandsOn Atlanta's bus visited Hutchinson Elementary School where Project GRAD and Jumpstart Atlanta discussed Americorps members’ important contributions to their programs.

Jay Bernath, a HandsOn Atlanta board member who attended the bus tour reflected,

“Within a very short time, we were able to see and hear about the incredible job that the AmeriCorps folks do each day. . . about how the members are not only building the community they serve but how they are also becoming Leaders in their own right.”

Click here to view more photos of the HandsOn Atlanta bus tour event!

Click here for more information about the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. ~ Margaret Mead